Tripura government decides to withdraw AFSPA from state

Tripura government has decided to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958 from the remaining areas of the state.

Decision in this regard was taken during the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar in Agartala after Police in its latest half-yearly review had found no need to extend the act any further.

Now state government will move to the Union Home Ministry for formal withdrawal of the central Act from state which was in effect for the last 18 years to curb insurgency.

Background

Union Government had enforced AFSPA in Tripura after the relentless violence and bloodshed in tribal areas of state in February 1997 .

Since then, it was reviewed and extended in every six months as per the provisions of the Act. The last six-month extension was given in November 2014 and its term ends by the end of May 2015.

At the time of imposition of Act in the state, there were only 42 police stations and two-third of the entire police station areas were under this Act.

Presently, the number of police station areas are 74 and out of them 26 police stations are fully and four police stations partly under this Act.